2 adults, a very spoilt cat and a caravan following the sun….

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Our five month stint in Iznate came to an end yesterday as we packed up and headed down the coast to Cadiz. We had spent the day before packing up and loading up the car so we would be ready to make a quick getaway in the morning. Maria came down bright and early to disconnect the electricity and we soon had the cats loaded up in their baskets and everything ready to go. But as with all our plans this one was not going to go smoothly.

I jumped in the car ready to reverse up to the caravan to hitch up and nothing. Nada, not a bean. We asked our neighbours if they would give us a jump-start and still nothing. Suddenly all our well laid plans slipped away as we realised that we would have to phone the breakdown insurance (again) and get someone out. I have to say though that the service we got was fantastic, just like the first time we used them a few months back.

Within an hour we had a mechanic on site who quickly diagnosed the problem to be our battery. He got us started but said that it was borderline and so with a long journey ahead with caravan and cats on board it didn’t take much to decide to go and get another one. Hubby followed him down to our nearest garage and he explained what we needed. 85 euros lighter he returned and we were ready to go again.

Farewells made to our neighbours and promises to stay in touch we were finally off. Maria came to say goodbye at the gate and more hugs ensued. On our way out I saw our little stray cat ‘Daisy Duke’ who I have been feeding. She was sat with some Spanish caravaners and looked like she had already found someone else to look after her!! Such is the way with cats but I was relieved that she had already sorted herself out with another ‘gravy train’.

The journey was easy and uneventful until we got closer to our destination. Signage in Spain is always a little on the scant side but there was nothing to indicate where the campsite should have been. We followed the directions we had got but nothing. It is always a worry when driving with the caravan that you will take a wrong turning and get lost. With a 37ft rig you can’t afford going the wrong way because there is not much chance of turning around!! We eventually decided to come back on ourselves and found that the site was now well signposted from the opposite direction!! Frustrating to say the least.

So, we finally arrived at our new campsite at around 7.30pm. It is a lot bigger with around 240 pitches and about 100 or so bungalows. It is empty though with 10 or so caravans and the same amount of motorhomes. We found a quiet spot and pitched up for the night leaving the unpacking for this morning.

Oscar took the journey in his stride, sleeping most of the way but Molly hated every minute, meowing and biting her blanket to shreds. She is having ‘intensive cuddle care’ and around the clock attention and managed to sneak onto the bed in the night when hubby got up for the little boys room. He didn’t notice her cuddled in beside me so she got to stay where she was!!

Pictures to follow and exploring to be done but we are glad to be here and on the next stage of our journey……

As my sister just said to me via Facebook – ‘Can’t be hot all the time sis!!’ Disappointingly she’s not wrong. I guess you could say that winter has hit Iznate. We have snow on La Maroma; note to hubby – won’t be climbing that then until it’s cleared!! and its bloomin’ freezing.

Tried to practice some yoga down in the restaurant on site (they let us use it as it’s not open at the moment) but we gave up after 40 minutes as my nose was running and I was starting to shiver – and I had 2 tops, a fleecy and 2 pairs of socks on!!

I know we can’t expect good weather all the time and it is only the middle of January but last week it was 25 degrees and I was in shorts and vest!

The cats are refusing to go out and have taken over the bed instead so I am trying to work in the midst of them all. But on the up side it is nice and cosy in the caravan and we are still very lucky to be here so I will stop complaining there.

Daisy our feral cat that we have been feeding since we arrived went missing last week. She disappeared for about 5 days before making a hasty reappearance on friday morning to eat before going again. We suspect she may have had kittens and has them holed up somewhere (hopefully in a place that is well protected and out of the cold) I am keeping an ear out for her today in case she leaves the kitties for some more food and am anticipating her bringing her babies to us at some point!! Hubby is obviously dreading this moment as he knows that it will be hard to resist little baby bundles of fur – for him as well as me. Am just thinking that we could stack the cat boxes one on top of the other in the back of the car when we go and get twice as many in!!!!

Yesterday we walked the mile down the road into the village of Iznate to explore. It is a typical little village of this area, being built into the hillsides with white washed buildings. We were going to do a video but it is windy again today so the sound quality wouldn’t have been great so instead I took lots of photo’s that I hope you will enjoy…….

Iznate from a distance, perched precariously on the hillsides.

The soil here is very dry and made up with lots of scale. So, there is a problem with subsidence. There are lots of half derelict buildings dotted around that have literally had the ground fall away from under them. These boulders are one way of attempting to hold the hillside back….

These methods don’t always work though…..last winter after some particularly heavy rains two portions of the road literally fell away down the hill!!!! yikes, keeping fingers crossed for a dry winter this year.

They are obviously very proud of their little village…..

Orange groves in the surrounding hills……

Lots of very narrow, steep streets……

Well cared for houses……

Beautiful gardens……

And of course lots of stray cats…….

And dogs…….

One of the best things about Iznate (from a former Personal Trainers perspective of course) is that they have a little outside gym area with about half a dozen or so resistance machines that work on your own body weight. They seem to be a common thing here as we have seen them in other towns/villages as well. I don’t know how much they are used but we had a go and they are effective and a really good idea. So, I think we will be popping down to the ‘gym’ over the coming months.

This one is like a seated chin up. You sit on the chair and then pulling pulling down on the bars raises the chair up. Very effective I have to say…….

Standing on the circular plate that rotates you hold onto the bars and then twist from side to side – great for the obliques…..

Not sure what this one did but hubby thought it was amusing none the less…..

Iznate also boast two bars, two supermarkets, a bank and on the afternoon we were there some sort of live music for vodaphone was going on!! not bad for a little village in the hills…….